I WAS born and bred into a horsey world by parents who were both heavily involved in all things equine. I have very early memories of rounding up the cows for milking, bareback on a 12.2hh pony at a tender age of five. My knowledge and experience comes from a life on a farm, much time spent around horses and travelling all over the country to shows.

Peter was the first pony I owned and was brought to our yard by John Bracken to get ready for Ballinasloe Fair. Mad as a March hare, Peter was tied with a rope to stop him from disappearing and I spent all my time quietening and breaking him. The night before Ballinasloe Fair, just as my work was done, John gifted Peter to me. I thought I had won the lotto!

When it came to my teenage years, my education wasn’t always in the classroom. Most days, I was caught staring out the window and books were returned in pristine condition, unused. I much preferred the great outdoors and being around horses.

I left school at 15 years old with no intention of going back and, instead, went for an interview for an equine course in Portlaoise. Before I knew it, I was starting a new chapter in life.

It was here that I made sense of all the years of equine knowledge and began to grasp putting theory into practice. I spent a few years afterwards working in various yards, gaining more experience across the equestrian world.

In 2005, I was lucky to find my present home in Kilfoylan. It’s here that I’ve built a very busy equine yard, offering a foaling service and stud near Moate. Without the help and support of John Bracken, this would not have been possible.

Breeding, buying and selling Irish Draughts has become a joint venture and shared passion with John. Irish Draught horses were always in my life and they were a common feature in every field back then. I took a particular interest as I liked working with them, due to their temperament and versatility.

Allen Rock (Silver Granite x Cranny Starlet), John’s Class 2 stallion, is a perfect example of how versatile the Irish Draught is. I hunted him twice a week, he covered mares and would easily go on a hack with a beginner rider.

One of our good buys in 2008 was a chesnut yearling colt which I had seen and admired as a foal at shows. He went out of the ring unsold in Cavan and he was later bought to come to Kilfoylan. Christened Scrapman (Crosstown Dancer - Radiance), I believed in his potential and, against the opinion of others, put him forward for inspection as a three-year-old. On the day, the inspectors could see this potential and awarded him Class 1.

He was produced by Tom Slattery to get a silver merit, stood at Drumhowan Stud for a number of seasons and proved in demand. With the help of McArdles at Drumhowan, he was sold on to his new home in Mexico.

My love of and interest in the Irish Draught horse continues with my involvement with the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association (IDHBA). I became secretary of my local branch in an attempt to revive interest amongst the breeders and enthusiasts in the midlands.

I didn’t expect that, within a couple of years, the Westmeath/Offaly branch would become the largest branch nationally and, for the past four years, organise a successful annual IDHBA Show, thanks to a great team and sponsors.

1. Proudest breeder moment?

Without doubt, our proudest breeder moment came at the RDS in 2016 when our Scrapman - Uibh Fhaile Duchess filly foal, shown by myself and Gillian Kinahan, won her class and then proceeded to win the overall foal championship that day. Making that call home to John was the best phone call I ever made. She had a super year, winning plenty of red rosettes and scooped the All-Ireland filly foal championship in Ballinasloe too, shown on the day by Shaun Doherty as I had broken my elbow and was on the ringside.

We had a second proud breeder moment in 2017 with the arrival of a grey Scrapman colt. Only a few hours after foaling, his dam, Phantom Queen, passed away. Her foal was raised on a cob foster mare and, when he was a few weeks old, John saw him and commented: “Our next stallion.

Unlike his sire, Scrapboy needed just another year to develop. The day before inspections, he was injured by a knock and was withdrawn. He then began his travels to Belltower Stud to allow him to settle for a few weeks before the UK inspections. His day came, he was awarded Class 1 and I was both relieved and extremely proud. Another call home to be made!

Scrapboy stood in Drumhowan Stud for two seasons and, during this time, came second in the RDS stallion class with handler John Burke. He now stands at home in Kilfoylan and is very much part of our lives.

2. How many mares/youngstock?

We currently have five broodmares and a selection of youngstock. One of my favourite broodmares is Lady Hattie (Agherlow - Bell Lady).

3. Best qualities of the Irish Draught?

Their versatility, temperament and their overall presence.

4. November is here - your winter feeding/management regime?

In-foal broodmares are wintered outside on good, dry land, supplemented with hard feed and haylage.

From December onwards, the youngstock are wintered inside and fed hard feed and haylage. I believe that foals and youngstock need to be wintered inside at night and out during the day with plenty of feed and hay.

5. Favourite Irish Draught bloodlines?

Crosstown Dancer for me is a true favourite. He was a very versatile horse, left a prominent stamp on his progeny. He was a good example of true to type.

6. Prefixes - your views?

I actually don’t mind if owners wish to change their horse’s name. However, if a name is changed, the original breeder/owner should be notified of the new name, so their career can be traced and followed.

7. That famous horse or pony you’d love to have bred?

I always admired Flo Jo (Clover Hill x Twinkle), ridden by Marion Hughes. She was such a fast, forward-going mare that knew her job and always delivered the goods. Pure excitement to watch her perform.

8. It takes a team, who’s on yours?

That’s for sure, a team is what I have. Most prominently, John Bracken has always been behind me on our Draught journey. The yard runs like clockwork thanks to my longstanding helper Jimmy and I’m also very lucky to have great support from the teenagers and the young adults that frequent the yard. They have a great interest in Irish Draughts and are known for their presence with me at all the shows.

9. Breeding/owning horses - would you do it all over again?

Yes, for sure. We’re not finished yet.

10. Thinking ahead...

Apart from planning our own breeding season, organising starts early for our IDHBA branch show in July.

We’ll also have the IDHBA National Show under the leadership of our current chairman Brian Murphy, who always has a ‘new idea’ we have to fulfil! The Irish Draught sales need to be promoted as we don’t seem to have the same level of buyers in recent times as we used to.

I would love to see a huge emphasis on involving our young people in all aspects of the Irish Draught, as I strongly feel that, without their involvement, we could be in trouble in years to come.